While refusing to recognise Russia's annexation of Ukrainian territory, China has quietly allowed its companies to establish a substantial economic presence across the occupied oblasts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Alessandra Colarizi documents a model of “de facto integration without de jure recognition”: mid-sized private firms acting as pathfinders, yuan becoming the dominant trade currency in Luhansk, Huawei infrastructure rebuilt into telecommunications networks, and (…)

The 2026 annual report of Russia's Feminist Anti-War Resistance (FAS) documents a severe tightening of abortion access — with 29 regions now penalising “incitement to abortion,” a 30% reduction in private abortion clinics, and a State Duma proposal to exclude non-medical abortions from public healthcare altogether. The war has simultaneously transferred traditionally male labour onto women in remote ethnic republics, where mass mobilisation has left women as sole heads of household. (…)

With parliamentary elections in Armenia on 7 June 2026, Russia has made clear it will use every instrument at its disposal — trade sanctions, energy threats, and religious networks — to reverse Yerevan's drift towards the European Union. Yurii Colombo reports from the intersection of geopolitics and electoral pressure in the South Caucasus. [AN]
---
The Kremlin's organisational machinery has shifted into gear with a single objective: bring Armenia back under its control, after Prime (…)

Le régime de Poutine montre des signes de fragilité croissante après cinq années de guerre d'agression contre l'Ukraine. La résistance ukrainienne a imposé une situation d'impasse militaire ; les pertes russes avoisinent 1,2 million de morts et de blessés ; et l'économie, portée un temps par la hausse des prix du pétrole, accumule les difficultés structurelles. Ashley Smith, du collectif Tempest, a mené cet entretien avec les rédacteurs de Posle (После, « Après »), média socialiste russe (…)

As Israel continues to restrict aid, Gaza's shattered health system is struggling to treat and contain illnesses spreading through overcrowded tent camps.
Palestinian child suffering from skin infections and severe malnutrition receives treatment at Al-Nasser Hospital, Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, May 12, 2026. (Doaa Albaz/Activestills) Palestinian child suffering from skin infections and severe malnutrition receives treatment at Al-Nasser Hospital, Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, (…)